Connector for electrical conductors



Dec. 1, 1964 w. STAFFEL 3,159,730

CONNECTOR FOR ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS Filed Jan. 24, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 )NVENTOR Dec. 1, 1964 w. STAFFEL 3,159,730

CONNECTOR FOR ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS Filed Jan. 24, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 BY WM INVENTOR mm W United States Patent 3,159,730 CONNECTOR FGR ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS Wiiheirn Staifel, Konigswirrter (Rhine), Germany, assignor to C. A. Weitimnller K.G., Berlebeck, near Detmold, Germany Filed Jan. 24, 1961, Ser. No. 84,536 6 Claims. (Cl. 200-133) The present invention relates to electrical connections.

More particularly, the present invention relates to electrical connecting arrangements where a fuse is arranged between a pair of conductors so as to connect them electrically with each other.

Conventional connector arrangements of this type have serious drawbacks. Thus, the fuses are exposed to dirt and other contaminating matter and in addition they are likely to fall out of the fuse seatings as a result of shock or vibrations. For example, in the case of machine tools there are often a main circuit as well as auxiliary circuits, and at the present time it is conventional to carry the conductors for the auxiliary circuits all the way back to a main switchboard carrying fuse connections and then back again to the machine tool since otherwise the vibrations encountered in the operation of the machine tool will cause the fuses to fall out and will expose the fuses to undesirable contamination.

It is one of the main objects of the present invention, therefore, to provide a connector arrangement which will house and support a fuse between a pair of conductors in such a way that the seating of the fuse will be shockproof and the fuse will be protected from exterior contamination. Thus, with the structure of the invention it is no longer necessary in the case of a machine tool of the type referred to above, for example, to carry the conductors of the auxiliary circuits all the way back to a main switchboard. The connectors of the invention enable both the main and the auxiliary circuits to be supported on a suitable rail or the like forming part of the machine tool itself.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a connector arrangement in which a fuse will be supported in such a way that it can be immediately inspected, at a glance, together with a number of other fuses of other connectors, so that the operator can check the condition of all of the circuits.

A still further object of the presentinvention is to provide a connector arrangement of the above type which is exceedingly simple and which can easily be mounted on and removed from a supporting rail or the like.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a connector arrangement which will securely support a fuse in the manner described above while at the same time making it very easy to remove and replace a fuse and also providing a support for all conventional types of fuses.

With the above objects in view the invention includes, in an electrical connecting arrangement, an electrically insulative connector body formed with a hollow, fusereceiving portion visible from the exterior of the body so that a fuse in the hollow portion of the body is visible from the exterior thereof. A pair of electrically conductive, spaced, fuse-seating means are fixedly carried by this connector body, extend into the hollow portion thereof, and respectively cooperate with the ends of a fuse for seating the same in a shock-proof manner in the hollow portion of the body. A pair of electrically conductive terminals are carried by the body and are connected electrically with the pair of fuse-seating means, respectively.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows in a partly sectional side elevation one possible embodiment of a connector arrangement according to the present invention, FIG. 1 also showing in transverse section an elongated channel member which serves as a supporting rail for releasably carrying the connector arrangement;

FIG. 2 is a top plan of the structure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows in side elevation another embodiment of a connector arrangement according to the invention; and

FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of a connector arrangement according to the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown at the lower part thereof, a transverse section, an elongated channel member 1 which serves as a supporting rail on which the corn nector body 2 made of electrically insulative material is mounted. As is apparent from FIG. l, the elongated channel member 1 has a lower end wall, a pair of side walls respectively extending in the same direction perpendicularly from the lower end wall, and a pair of additional walls respectively extending over the lower end wall from the free edges of the side walls distant from the lower end wall. The lower right portion of the body 2 is formed with a groove which receives one of the additional walls, while the body 2 carries a curved springy element 22 which engages the free edge of the other additional wall and is located between the same and the lower end wall, as indicated in FIG. 1. The body 2 is formed with a seat for a removable lock pin 3 which, when carried by the body 2 in the manner shown in FIG. 1, engages the springy element 22 to prevent the latter from yielding so as to prevent removal of the body 2 from the supporting rail or channel member 1. When the lock pin 3 is removed simply by being slipped longitudinally out of its seat on the body 2, the body 2 can be turned in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 1, so as to be removed from the channel member 1, and of course it is possible through the reverse movement of the body 2 to mount the latter on the channel member 1 and then to introduce the lock pin 3 so as to releasably hold 1tjhe fonnector body 2 on the supporting channel memer The connector body 2 is formed with a pair of cutouts in which a pair of terminal members 4 and 5 are respectively located, these terminal members simply being in the form of short metallic sleeves. A pair of screw members 4a and 5a are accessible through bores extending into the body 2 from the front face thereof which is visible in FIG. 2 and which is at the uppermost part of the body 2, as viewed in FIG. 1, and these screw members 4a and 5a extend threadedly through upper portions of the terminal sleeves 4 and 5 into the interior space thereof. Thus, by inserting a screw driver through the openings at the front face of the body 2 it is possible for the operator to turn the screw members 4a and 5a in one direction or the other with respect to the terminal sleeves 4 and 5.

The body 2 fixedly carries a pair of elongated electrically conductive members 6 and 7 which may, for example,'be embedded in the body 2. For example, when the body 2 is molded the members 6 and 7 are positioned in the mold so that the material of the body 2 will flow around the mem ers 6 and 7 to fixed-1y connect the latter with the body 2. However, it is also possible to fix the members 6 and 7 to the body 2 in any other manner. The member 7 has an elongated free end portion extending through the sleeve 5 while the member 6 has an elongated free end portion extending through the sleeve 4, so that these members 6 and 7 prevent the sleeves 4 and 5 from turning and when a pair of conductors have 3 their free ends placed in the sleeves 4 and 5 respectively beneath the elongated free end portions of the members 6 and 7, the turning of these screws 4a and 5a will raise the sleeves 4 and 5, as viewed in FIG. 1 so as to tightly clamp the conductors to the elongated members 6 and 7.

Of course, instead of the arrangement shown, it is also possible to rigidly fix the members 6 and 7 with the sleeves 4 and 5.

The members 6 and 7 respectively have elongated free end portions parallel to and spaced from the free end portions thereof which extend through the sleeves 4 and 5, and it will be noted that each of the elongated members 6 and 7 has an intermediate portion perpendicular to its parallel end portions which are thus offset with respect to each other. These free end portions of the members 6 and 7 which are distant from the sleeves 4 and 5 respectively form at least part of the pair of fuse-seating means. Thus, the elongated free end portion of the member 7 which is distant from the sleeve 5 has an upwardly directed surface 11 adapted to be engaged by an end of a fuse 1t and forming a seat therefor. The lowermost part of the member 7, as viewed in FIG. 1, extends across the bottom end of a hollow portion formed in the connector body 2 and adapted to receive the fuse so that the latter is mounted within the connector body 2, although, as will be seen from the description which follows, the fuse 10 is still maintained visible from the exterior so that the operator can check the condition of the fuse iii. The free end portion of the member 6 which is distant from the sleeve 4 is in the form of a lug extending across the hollow interior portion of the body 2 which serves as a fuse-receiving chamber, and this lug is formed with a threaded bore through which a threaded portion of a screw 8 threadedly extends. The screw 8 is a manually turnable screw having an upper cap 9 made of an electrically insulative material so that the operator by engaging the cap 9 can turn the screw 8 in one direction or the other. The bottom end of the screw 8 engages the upper end of the fuse 10 to urge the latter downwardly toward the surface 11, as viewed in FIG. 1. Thus, it will be seen that the free end of the member '7 distant from the sleeve 5 forms one fuse-seating means, while the free end of the member6 distant from the sleeve 4 together with the screw 8 forms the other fuse-seating means, and this pair of fuse-seating means cooperate with the end of the fuse 10 to seat the latter purely in a shock-proof manner in the hollow interior portion of the connector body 2. The screw 8 is formed with an axial bore 12 (FIG. 2) extending all the way through the screw 8 as well as with the cap 9 so that the operator may view' through the bore 1-2 the fuse 16 to ascertain the condition thereof. If desired the free end portion of the member 7 may carry at its face 11 a threaded sieve into which a threaded end of the fuse 10 may be turned so that the screw ti would then press the fuse 10 longitudinally with respect to screw threads, or, if desired a sleeve carried by the face 11 may carry in its interior a spring against which the fuse 10 is pressed by the screw 8. With all of these arrangements the fuse 10 will be securely mounted in a shock-proof manner, cannot possibly fall out, and at the same time is visible through the bore 12 While being protected against contamination by foreign matter. Of course, the screw 8 is removed in order to remove the fuse 10, and anew fuse is very simply placed in the hollow space within the connector body 2 before the screw 8 is replaced.

Also, while removing the pin Sthe entire connector body' may be removed.

The bore 12 may be covered at'its upperend with a window, if desired, and the 'screw cap 9 may carry a In the embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in FIG. 3, the body 2a corresponds to the connector body 2 described above and is removably carried in an identical manner by the channel member 1. This body 2a fixedly carries the terminal sleeves 14 and 15 in suitable recesses formed in the body 2a, and the terminal sleeves 14 and 15 are integral with substantially L-s'haped elements which at their ends distant from the sleeves 14 and 15 are integral with a pair of substantially Ushaped spring clips 16 and 17. It will be seen that the spring clips 16 and 17 are coaxial while the sleeves 14 and 15 are also coaxial, and the common axis of the spring clips is parallel to the commonaxis of the sleeves 14 and 15. The body 2a is formed with a pair of bores extending downwardly from its front face and communicating with the recesses which receive the sleeves 14 and 15, and in these bores are respectively located a pair of screws adapted to be turned by the operator and passing threaded-ly through the walls of the sleeves 14 and 15 so that these screw members are available for releasably fixing a pair of conductors to the terminal sleeves 14 and 15. The spring clips 16 and 17 respectively have open ends directed toward the upper front face of the body 2a, as viewed in FIG. 3, and these spring clips 16 and 17 are located within a hollow interior portion formed in the body 2a, as shown in FIG. 3. The spring clips 16 and 17 may be fixedly connected at their lower ends to the body 2a in any suitable way, or they may be simply carried by the L-shaped elements which are integral with the spring clips as well as the sleeves 14 and 15 which are fixedly carried by the body 2a as by havin a press fit in the mating recesses thereof. The hollow interior portion of the body 2a of FIG. 3 communicates with the exterior through an opening formed in the front upper face of the body 2a, and the fuse Ztl may be quickly and easily insertecl into the hollow interior portion of the body 2a through the opening in its front face, the ends of the fuse 20 spreading the clips 16 and 17 while passing through the open ends thereof until these clips then pass around and resiliently grip the ends of the fuse 2% in a well lznown manner. Thus, the embodiment of FIG. 3 also provides a shock-proof secure mounting of the fuse 2th in a manner permitting easy visibility and accessibility thereof While at the same time protecting the same from falling out as a result of shocks and from contamination by foreign matter. 7

In the embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in FIG. 4 the connector body 212 of electrically insulative material again removably mounted on the supporting channel 1 in the same way as was described above in connection with FIG. 1. The body 212 is also formed with a hollow interior portion adapted to receive the fuse 21, and this hollow interior portion communicates with the exterior through an opening formed in the side face or" the body 2b which is visible in FIG. 4, this opening having the'configuration illustrated in F1G.'4. The body 25 carries the terminal sleeves 14 and 15 in the same way as described above in connection with the body 2a, and the conductors are adapted to be connected to the sleeves 14 and 15 in the same way as was described above in connection with FIG. 3, also. However, in the embodiment of FIG. 4, the sleeves 14 and 15 are not integrally connected with the spring clips 18 and 19 which form the pair of fuse-seating means of this embodiment, in contrast with the embodiment of FIG. 3 where the pair of fuse-seating means 16 and 17 are integrally connected with the sleeves 14 and 15. In the embodiment of FIG. 4 the spring clips 13 and 19 are also of a substantially U-shaped configuration and respectively have open ends directed toward the opening in the side face of the body 211 which is visible in FIG. 4. These spring clips 18 and 19 are fixed in any suitable way at their ends distant from their open ends to'the body 2b. It will be noted that the clips 18 and 19 are coaxial 'andthat' their common axis of the embodiment of FIG. 4 is perpendicular to the common axis of the sleeves 14 and 15. A pair of electrical conductors shown in FIG. 4 respectively serve to electrically interconnect the sleeves 14 and 15 with the clips 18 and 19 in the manner shown in FIG. 4. For example, the ends of these conductors may be soldered to the clips 18 and 19 and to a pair of lugs integral with and extending from the sleeves 14 and 15, as indicated in FIG. 4. Thus, with the embodiment of FIG. 4 the fuse 21 is easily introduced and removed from the connector arrangement through the opening in the side face of the body 2b, and it is apparent that this fuse 21 is very securely mounted in a shock-proof manner by the pair of fuse-seating means 18 and 19 and at the same time is easily visible so as to be capable of having its condition checked by the oper-ator. Moreover, it is protected from contamination by foreign matter and the like.

The structure may include conventional tappings for cross connections or test sockets which are located either centrally or on the incoming or outgoing side. If required they can be be provided by slightly widening or lengthening the connector body. Moreover, various modifications, which although not preferred, are nevedtheless possible. For example, instead of providing releasable terminal connections, it is possible to provide permanent connections at the terminals with the conductors.

According to another feature of the invention, normal through connectors for control circuits may remain on the terminal rail provided they are equipped with a center tap for making the necessary cross connection. The control circuit can then be connected through a tapped connector according to the invention. To this end the connectors are each provided, instead of with twin screw type connector bushes for the cross connection between the main terminal and the control circuit, with a clip contact at the usual center tap for cross connections, into which a tubular or strip-type fuse for establishing the cross connection, now embodied in the fuse, is inserted.

The use of fused connectors need not be confined to the control circuits. If the main terminals are also embodied in fused connectors, then the terminal rail of the machine will permit an at a glance check of all the connections and fuses between main and auxiliary circuits.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of electrical connectors differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in electrical fuse connectors, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A stackable electrical connecting arrangement comprising, in combination, a fiat electrically insulative connector body having a first and a second side face opposite each other, and a bottom edge face, said body being formed with a fuse-receiving hollow portion visible from the exterior of said body so that a fuse in said fuse-receiving hollow portion of said body is visible from the exterior thereof; a pair of electrically conductive, spaced, fuse-seating means fixedly carried by said body accessible from said first side face thereof, said seating means extending into said fuse-receiving hollow portion thereof, and respectively cooperating with the ends of a fuse for seating the same in a shock-proof manner in said fusereceiving hollow portion of said body, said connector body also being formed with a pair of terminal-seating hollow portions accessible from the exterior of said connector body, a pair of electrically conductive terminals carried by said body respectively within said pair of terminal-seating hollow portions accessible from said first side face thereof and connected electrically with said pair of fuse-seating means, respectively; an elongated channel member on which said body is mounted, said channel member having an end wall, a pair of side walls respectively extending in the same direction from opposed edges of said end wall, and a pair of spaced parallel additional walls extending over said end wall respectively in opposite directions from edges of said side walls distant from said end wall, said body having a portion extending from said bottom edge face into said channel, formed with a groove receiving one of said additional walls and carrying a springy element engaging and located between the other of said additional walls and said end wall; and a lock pin removably carried by said body and engaging said spn'ngy element to prevent the latter from yielding to release said body from said channel member until said pin is removed, so that said connector may be securely held in said channel member and arranged side by side with other identical connectors so that their side faces abut each other.

2. A stackable connector comprising, in combination, a flat housing having two opposite side faces, two lateral edge faces, a top edge face and a bottom edge face, said housing having in one of said side faces two terminalseating cavities each adjacent to one of said lateral edge faces thereof, a central fuse-receiving chamber arranged between said terminal-seating cavities and spaced therefrom, two conductor slots each extending from one of said terminal-seating cavities to said fuse-receiving chamber at spaced points thereof, respectively, and two conductor cavities each extending from one of said lateral edge faces into one of said terminal-seating cavities, respectively, all of said cavities and slots being open in one of said side faces and closed along said opposite other side face of said housing so as to be accessible through said one of said side faces; two electrically conductive terminals each inserted in one of said terminal-seating cavities and accessible through said one side face of said housing, each of said terminals adapted to be connected to a wire projecting into said housing through the respective conductor cavity thereof; two conductor members each extending from one of said terminals in the respective terminal-seating cavity through the respective conductor slot into said fuse-receiving chamber in such a manner that their portions located in said fuse-receiving chamber are spaced from each other; a fuse inserted in said fuse-receiving chamber in contact with said spaced portions of said conductor members; and attaching means on said bottom edge face of said housing for securing the same to a common support with identical connectors arranged side by side with their side faces abutting each other.

3. A stack-able connector as set forth in claim2, wherein said fuse-receiving chamber is elongated in a direction substantially perpendicular to said top edge of said housing and has a threaded portion, one end of said chamber opening in said top edge, said connector further comprising a manually turnable screw member adapted to engage one end of said fuse and be threadedly engaged by said threaded portion of said fuse-receiving chamber so as to retain said fuse therein.

4. A stackable connector as set forth in claim 3, wherein said spaced portions of said conductor members are spaced in a direction substantially perpendicular to said top edge so that said spaced portions of said conductor members are in contact with said fuse substantially at opposite ends thereof.

-5. A stackable connector as set forth in claim 3, wherein' said manually turnable screw member is formed with an axial bore through which a portion of the fuse is visible to indicate the condition thereof.

6. A connector stack, comprising, in combination, at least two stackable connectors each having a fiat housing having two opposite side faces, two lateral edge faces, a top edge face and a bottom edge face, said housing having in one of said side faces two terminal-seating cavities each adjacent to one of said lateral edge faces thereof, a central fuse-receiving chamber arranged between said terminal-seating cavities and spaced therefrom, two conductor slots each extending from one of said terminalseating cavities to said fuse-receiving chamber at spaced points thereof, respectively, and two conductor cavities each extending from one of said lateral edge faces into one of said terminal-seating cavities, respectively, all of said cavities and slots being open in one of said side faces and closed along said opposite other side face of said housing so as to be accessible through said one of said side faces; two electrically conductive terminals each inserted'in one of said terminal-seating cavities and accessible through said one side face of said housing, each of said terminals adapted to be connected to a wire projecting into said housing through the respective conductor cavity thereof; two conductor members each extending from one of said terminals in the respective terminalseating cavity through the respective conductor slot into said fuse-receiving chamber in such a manner that their portions located in said fuse-receiving chamber are spaced from each other; a fuse inserted in said fuse-receiving chamber in contact with said spaced portions of said conductor members; and attaching means on said bottom edge face of each of said connector housings for securing them in side by side relationship to a common support with said one side face of one connector housing abutting said other side face of the other connector so that said open cavities and slots of said one connector are closed by the abutting other side face of the other connector thereby protecting the terminals and conductors therein from contamination and more securely retaining them in position when exposed to vibration.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES lATENT S 758,646 5/ 04 Heany 200133 846,691 3/07 Painter 200-433 1,227,753 5/ 17 Cole 200133 1,412,083 4/22 Lee 200-133 1,556,829 10/25 Wyman 200-3 1,714,866 5/29 Green 200133 1,918,525 7/33 Kckenrode 200-433 2,087,886 7/37 Frank 200--133 2,115,428 4/38 Quisling 200-121 2,581,308 1/52 Smith 200121 2,831,087 4/58 Sundt 200-133 FOREIGN PATENTS 223,505 6/ 10 Germany.

850,310 9/ 52 Germany.

925,896 3/55 Germany. 1,03 8,149 9/58 Germany. 1,071,808 12/59 Germany. 1,042,682 6/53 France. 1,085,754 8/54 France. 1,104,151 6/55 France.

85,789 9/ 20 Switzerland. 540,233 8/55 Belgium.

BERNARD A. GILHEANY, Primary Examiner.

MAX L. LEVY, Examiner. 

2. A STACKABLE CONNECTOR COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A FLAT HOUSING HAVING TWO OPPOSITE SIDE FACES, TWO LATERAL EDGE FACES, A TOP EDGE FACE AND A BOTTOM EDGE FACE, SAID HOUSING HAVING IN ONE OF SAID SIDE FACES TWO TERMINALSEATING CAVITIES EACH ADJACENT TO ONE OF SAID LATERAL EDGE FACES THEREOF, A CENTRAL FUSE-RECEIVING CHAMBER ARRANGED BETWEEN SAID TERMINAL-SEATING CAVITIES AND SPACED THEREFROM, TWO CONDUCTOR SLOTS EACH EXTENDING FROM ONE OF SAID TERMINAL-SEATING CAVITIES TO SAID FUSE-RECEIVING CHAMBER AT SPACED POINTS THEREOF, RESPECTIVELY, AND TWO CONDUCTOR CAVITIES EACH EXTENDING FROM ONE OF SAID LATERAL EDGE FACES INTO ONE OF SAID TERMINAL-SEATING CAVITIES, RESPECTIVELY, ALL OF SAID CAVITIES AND SLOTS BEING OPEN IN ONE OF SAID SIDE FACES AND CLOSED ALONG SAID OPPOSITE OTHER SIDE FACE OF SAID HOUSING SO AS TO BE ACCESSIBLE THROUGH SAID ONE OF SAID SIDE FACES; TWO ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE TERMINALS EACH INSERTED IN ONE OF SAID TERMINAL-SEATING CAVITIES AND ACCESSIBLE THROUGH SAID ONE SIDE FACE OF SAID HOUSING, EACH OF SAID TERMINALS ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED TO A WIRE PROJECTING INTO SAID HOUSING THROUGH THE RESPECTIVE CONDUCTOR CAVITY THEREOF; TWO CONDUCTOR MEMBERS EACH EXTENDING FROM ONE OF SAID TERMINALS IN THE RESPECTIVE TERMINAL-SEATING CAVITY THROUGH THE RESPECTIVE CONDUCTOR SLOT INTO SAID FUSE-RECEIVING CHAMBER IN SUCH A MANNER THAT THEIR PORTIONS LOCATED IN SAID FUSE-RECEIVING CHAMBER ARE SPACED FROM EACH OTHER; A FUSE INSERTED IN SAID FUSE-RECEIVING CHAMBER IN CONTACT WITH SAID SPACED PORTIONS OF SAID CONDUCTOR MEMBERS; AND ATTACHING MEANS ON SAID BOTTOM EDGE FACE OF SAID HOUSING FOR SECURING THE SAME TO A COMMON SUPPORT WITH IDENTICAL CONNECTORS ARRANGED SIDE BY SIDE WITH THEIR SIDE FACES ABUTTING EACH OTHER. 